Timberwolves up 2‑1
- Minnesota beat Denver to grab a 2‑1 lead in their first‑round series with a crucial road victory. (usatoday.com) - The Wolves now control a home‑court swing, carrying pressure back to Minnesota for Game 4. (nbcsports.com) - With playoff scoring down across the board, road wins like this materially raise a team's odds of seizing a series. (nytimes.com)
Minnesota took a 2-1 series lead over Denver on Thursday night with a 113-96 win, putting the Timberwolves in front in a matchup that was tied two days earlier. (nba.com) Game 3 was played at Target Center in Minneapolis on April 23, and Minnesota led by as many as 27 points before closing out the 17-point win. Denver scored only 11 points in the first quarter and finished at 34.1% shooting. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Ayo Dosunmu scored a playoff career-high 25 points with nine assists off the bench, Jaden McDaniels added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Rudy Gobert finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Nikola Jokić had 27 points and 15 rebounds for Denver, but he shot 7-for-26. (nba.com) The result flipped the series after Denver won Game 1 on April 18 and Minnesota answered in Game 2 on April 20. With the Timberwolves now ahead, the first-round matchup has moved from Denver’s early edge to Minnesota’s chance to push the Nuggets to the brink. (nba.com) (nbcsports.com) Minnesota got this lead with defense more than shot-making. NBA.com’s Game 3 recap said the Timberwolves held Denver to its lowest field-goal percentage of the season, its third-fewest points of the year, and only 8-for-32 shooting from 3-point range. (nba.com) Denver also played without Aaron Gordon because of a calf injury, removing a starting forward from a team that already struggled to generate efficient offense in Game 3. Nuggets coach David Adelman said after the loss that Denver’s “physicality offensively has got to get better.” (nba.com) The timing matters because points have been harder to find across these playoffs. The Athletic reported on April 23 that postseason scoring is down because pace is slower, offensive rebounds are down, and shooting efficiency has slipped, which makes a road or swing game harder to recover from once a team falls behind in a series. (nytimes.com) Betting markets reflected the shift by Friday morning. Yahoo Sports, citing BetMGM odds, listed Minnesota at -125 to win the series and Denver at +105 after the Timberwolves’ Game 3 win. (sports.yahoo.com) Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday, April 25, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC, again in Minneapolis. Another Timberwolves win would send the series back to Denver with Minnesota up 3-1 instead of tied. (nba.com)
